


You were always a hero to me

by Louto



Series: Am I truly a villain? [1]
Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series), Watcher Entertainment RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, BLM, Betrayal, Blood and Injury, Character Death, Fluff and Angst, Fuck racists!!, Hero Shane Madej, Heroes to Villains, Hurt/Comfort, I apparently write some dark shit, LITERALLY, Light Angst, Like really fucking slow, M/M, Mentions of Death, Mentions of Racism, Minor Character Death, Minor Violence, Name Change, Ryan Bergara Loves Shane Madej, Ryan feels hurt, Shane Madej Being an Idiot, Shane Madej Loves Ryan Bergara, Shane feels betrayed, Slow Burn, Superheroes, Supervillains, Tags will be added, Villain Ryan Bergara, Villains to Heroes, Violence, hope you like it, new identity, no really its slow burn, not really - Freeform, or is it???, ricky goldsworth - Freeform, who the fuck knows
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-30
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 18:00:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 13,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25000534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Louto/pseuds/Louto
Summary: Ricky changed his identity, his name, everything.Starting a new life as Ryan Bergara he went into a life of crime.If people wanted him to be a villain, they would get a villain...Or they would if a certain Shane Madej didn't suddenly enter his life.--------------or...A superhero AU where Ryan is the villain and Shane is the hero.
Relationships: Ryan Bergara & Shane Madej, Ryan Bergara/Shane Madej
Series: Am I truly a villain? [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1809904
Comments: 40
Kudos: 52





	1. you are what the world views you as

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Golden4278](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Golden4278/gifts).



With a thump, Ryan was thrown unto the floor of the penthouse, Shane landing partly on top of him in an attempt to hold him down. Shane was almost growling at the villain

” WHY RYAN, WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THIS!?”

Ryan was a villain, sweet lovely Ryan who would stumble over his words and tug at Shane’s shirt when he got genuinely excited about something. Shane felt he had been tricked, played for a fool.

“ You are... You WERE so good, so why? why become a villain?” the hero pleaded for an explanation.

“ You know I tried to be a hero once,” Ryan said. He let out a quiet huff and began to cough, small blood drops landed on Shane's shirt. A pained smile appeared on Ryan's face as he continued his monologue.

” I saved people, I even had the cape,” Ryan's voice was riddled with light humour. Shane felt a small tug on his left side, the broken villain was fiddling with his cape. The almost familiar motion stung.

“I did it all, tried so hard but even then…” the villain’s expression soured with his words “they couldn’t accept it, the media always had to find something bad. I would save hundreds or more from burning buildings, but there would be that one person I couldn’t get to in time, an-and they blamed me.”

Ryan’s eyes welled with tears” they blamed it on me, said it was all my fault.”

Shane's grip had loosened not holding him down with quite so much strength. By all means, Ryan could escape right now. A kick placed just right would throw Shane off of him and give him enough time to escape.

“ Y’know if the world's only gonna see me as a villain, shifty and untrustworthy, there's no point in trying to be anything else."

“ Bullshit.” It slipped out of Shane’s mouth before he could stop it. Ryan looked shocked before that shock morphed into anger and then melancholy.

The villain looked away from Shane, defeated, he didn’t want to see his eyes. “Maybe to you Golden Boy, but, I’m. Not. You… Just end me and get this over with.”

“I’m not going to kill you, I don’t kill.” Shane’s voice rang out with all the confidence the other man was missing. Ryan's eyes glanced back at him for a brief moment.

” You could, no one would blame you. You would still be the hero…” he laughed quietly to himself.

” Hell they would probably reward you when it comes down to it,” Shane was taken aback by the truth behind the words. When he thought about it he really couldn’t imagine a reality where he could walk away and be disgraced.

In all possible endings, he would end up with the same title of ‘the city’s golden boy’ or be rewarded and showered with love and more adoration than before.

Shane's grip slacked and he rose to his feet letting go of the villi- no Ryan, letting go of Ryan. He looked so small there on the ground bruises forming around his neck and on his cheek.

” What are you doing?” Ryan looked up at Shane, confusion painting his features. Shane inwardly curled in on himself, he knew Ryan, fuck, he loved Ryan… So why had he done this?

Shane glanced down at his hands, the same hands that he had used to fight the man on the ground” Shane, what *cough* what are you doing?” more blood came out with this cough. It was first now Shane registered that that could mean something bad, something really fucking bad.

While the brief thought of feeling like an idiot crossed his mind, the panic he started to feel severely trumped it.

” Ryan, are you feeling okay?” Ryan looked at him like he was a fucking idiot after a small amount of shock caused by the caring tone in Shane’s voice,” okay dumb question, I mean can you breathe alright? are you feeling like there's liquid in your airways, or possibly choked.. okay bad choice of words. You know what I mean.”

Ryan stalled looking more than confused which was understandable considering not more than 10 minutes ago they had been fighting.

“I-I mean, it’s hard to breathe but it’s nothing, I mean we just had a fight where you basically landed on my chest, it-it’s normal… right?” now the man sounded scared.

_Fuck fuck fuck fuck **FUCK** , this was not good, and Shane was such an idiot! Of course, Ryan would be alarmed, he got scared when he thought there was a ghost. He used to cuddle up to Shane searching for protection._

The same type of panicked expression crossed the smaller man’s face and his eyes locked with Shane pleading to be comforted like he had been so many times before.

Shane crouched down and picked Ryan up bridal style, clutching him to his chest,” Shane what’s wrong? What’s happening?” Ryan begged. The hero knew he had to tell him if he didn’t want the younger man to spiral and get trapped in his head. Shane clenched his teeth.

” You coughed Ry, you coughed up blood, that combined with trauma to the chest can be bad. You need to go to the hospital.” Ryan had been quiet until the hospital was mentioned, then he began to struggle.

” No Shane, I can’t, not the hospital! Can’t you do it? Please, please, Shane?!” The hero let out a shout of frustration, seething with rage. Shane had caused this and now he god damn had to fix it!

”... Okay, Ryan, you’re god damn lucky I have a medical degree.” The man in question laughed lightly causing him to cough more” As if I’d let you get near my insides if you didn’t have it.”

A cocky although pained smile spread on his face, happy that Shane still loved him and thrilled he didn’t have to hide who he was anymore. Shane jumped out of the window staying in the shade and out of view while making his way towards home, their home.


	2. Let's rewind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Go now, slowly hold your hands up and nothing will happen… Leave any weapons you have,” Ricky hoped he wasn’t making the wrong choice, but this man didn’t seem to be capable of causing much damage. He lifted some of the darkness surrounding the door so the shivering man could better see it. This seemed to do it for him. He ran as soon as the door came into his view, crying out how sorry he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so my good friend Erin has been a real hero (see what I did there). She helped me with spelling and she's been giving me notes on what to improve!!! All my love goes out to her, you should also really check out her fics!
> 
> Erin is an incredible writer, here is a link to her if you are interested:  
> https://archiveofourown.org/users/Golden4278/pseuds/Golden4278

Okay, so you might be wondering, “what the hell just happened?” Well, I could tell a short and very vague story about what led up to that fight, but let’s rewind and set the scene:

Back in 1876, the: newspapers blew up with one of those good clickbait titles. You know, the ridiculous kind that sells thousands of copies. But this time… it wasn’t a lie.

**“THE FIRST REAL SUPERHERO APPEARS”**

And who was this mysterious hero? A young Asian American lady named May Lau.

May was only 22 when she had saved a kid from being shot. Her power was super speed, and she could run up to 2500 miles per hour.

May had been in the right place. A drive-by was happening and she had spotted a young girl who was in the range of the shooters. In the start, May had kept to herself and tried to stay out of the media. As for the shooters, they got away while May was comforting the girl, making sure she was all well.

It was first years after having been spotted she had gone public and vouched to be ready and able to uphold justice. Many others who had also been gifted with superhuman powers started to come out of hiding.

May Lau had inspired the Gifted to not be afraid of the extraordinary things they were able to do, and instead embrace their powers and help make the world a better place.

But with heroes came villains. Some of the Gifted didn’t use their powers for good. Instead, they would take advantage of their advantage.

Some didn’t want anything to do with this villain/hero nonsense. The gifted were now divided into those who used their powers for goods and evil, versus the “wasted.” This group tended to keep to themselves. They used their fantastical abilities… to become employee of the month. Shit like that.

Both Gifted and Non-Gifted thought they were throwing their powers away, hence why they were called “the wasted.” And they faced disapproval from all sides.

As the times changed and special abilities became more normalized, laws were put into place, and jobs opportunities came to be. Some already existing workplaces would even hire gifted with specific abilities with higher regard.

Then the big riot against the wasted happened in the summer of 1958. The conflict had been brewing for a while, and this was when it finally boiled over. The rioters believed that they should stick to ‘saving the world’ and shouldn’t take everyone else’s jobs.

The wasted became another group to add to our already big collection of people who were discriminated against.

By 1977, it was mostly expected for the Gifted to have some sort of education. The movies might show a hot dude with super strength without any sort of higher education, but when that gets applied to real-life people get a little… should we say uncomfortable?

Parents were not a fan of their kids going out into the world without an education. And there were the many, many parents who were against their kids risking their lives trying to stop some freak with powers.

Finally in 1989, heroes started getting paid for their hard work. Some of you out there are probably shocked, wondering “why would superheroes get paid?” Well, do you think it’s unfair that firefighters get paid? No? This is the same principle.

Yes, we would all love it if everyone would just do good because _they_ are good. But good deeds don’t pay the bills. They don’t put food on the table.

Good deeds don’t allow your parents to raise you and keep a healthy way of life.

And now the story starts, November 26, 1990. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the story of Ricky Goldsworth.

  


* * *

**Friday, November 6, 2009.**  
**Los Angeles.**

  


_BEEEEEP! BEEEEP!_ The alarm was blaring. Ricky knew what that means. _Great. Someone’s robbing a bank and they aren’t even trying to be quiet about it,_ Ricky thought bitterly. He had just turned the street on his way home when he heard the ruckus from a few blocks down.

Normally, Ricky had to wait for something to pop up on the police radio he stole…. borrowed. Alright fine, stole, it was for a good cause! He wasn’t usually lucky enough to simply walk in on a crime being committed. Before today, anyways.

Ricky had hurried with getting in his suit, he almost always wore his black turtleneck bodysuit. He didn’t care what people said, it was stylish and comfortable! So what if he found it in the girl’s section!

One thing Ricky had never understood was the obsession with spandex. But peer pressure made him get a nice pair of tights with a print that resembled a black flame with a blue outline. He even put on the stupid cape! I mean, who really wears a cape? They’re _annoying_ , and they get in the way, but apparently, people trust you more if you wear them. Utterly dumb, right?

As Ricky ran the last way to the bank, the police sirens wailed louder and louder. The door burst open. Screams filled Ricky’s ears:

“GET THE HOSTAGES TO THE BACK ROOMS! JUST SHOVE THEM IN A CLOSET OR SOMETHING! AND YOU! YOU’RE COMING WITH ME!”

The noise let the hero approach unnoticed. Ricky looked around, trying to take in the scene before going in. He didn’t want to add to the chaos. After spending less than 10 seconds crouching behind a big pillar not too far from the front entrance, he decided it was time for action.

There were five guys in the main room. There could be more elsewhere. Three of them were leading a crowd of hostages through a door to a back room.

Ricky spotted four kids, all looking rather shaken. (Obviously.) The children were huddled together with supposed family members. Thankfully, the thugs weren’t harming them. Maybe out of some shred of goodwill, or just not seeing the hostages as a threat. Either way, the kids seemed safe. As safe as they could be, at the moment.

Two thugs remained in the main room. One woman, probably the leader, was holding a gun to the back of a middle-aged man in a bank uniform. She was leading them towards the… what’s the place with the big round door called? Are they even actually round or is that just a movie thing? Oh, got it! A VAULT!

… Maybe this is the wrong thing to think about right now. 

Anyways, the last guy was looking around the room, probably the designated look-out of the group. He was doing a shit job of it. This guy looked younger and admittedly, he looked scared shitless. Any small noise made him flinch. Ricky can relate.

Ricky was still standing behind the pillar, out of sight. He closed his eyes, letting his powers materialise. A rushing sensation filled his body as it had so many times before. His magic, (if you could call it that), rushed through his body before settling in his stomach with a tight grip.

The feeling most of all resemble fear; it was almost the same sensation. In this context, it felt empowering. It was like all his fear had come together and was released into the dark matter that now flowed from his fingers.

Ricky focused on getting the dark matter, hopefully, unseen to the lights and sending out a big enough shockwave to fry the wires, bathing the building in darkness.

That part of the plan went fluently. The lights went out within seconds of each other, making the guy in the front room screech and jump. A couple of screams and curses could be heard throughout the building. One of the perpetrators yelled something about ‘the fucking police always doing this shit.’

Now was Ricky’s time to get going. The hero let his powers infiltrate the room. It made it easier for him to see but clouded the dark air even more to others. Ricky started to make his way slowly towards the young man, who was shaking in his boots. The only sound in the room was echoing footsteps on marble flooring.

Despite looking terrified, the man stood his ground. Ricky hopes that if he could just scare this man a little more, he would bail. Just push him a little more and he wouldn’t have to be hurt (or hurt anyone).

“Leave”, Ricky whispered. His voice carried through the room to the boy. It sounded like a horribly distorted voice whispering in the man’s ears despite being nowhere near Ricky. “You should leave… NOW!” The man jumped once again, whimpering and mumbling, “I can’t”, over and over.

“Go now, slowly hold your hands up and nothing will happen… Leave any weapons you have,” Ricky hoped he wasn’t making the wrong choice, but this man didn’t seem to be capable of causing much damage. He lifted some of the darkness surrounding the door so the shivering man could better see it. This seemed to do it for him. He ran as soon as the door came into his view, crying out how sorry he was.

Next step should be the vault. On the way there, the hero heard agitated shouting. One voice was incredibly frightened, and the other, more feminine voice, was insistent: “PUT IN THE FUCKING CODE OR I’LL BLOW YOUR BRAINS OUT!!”

“I t-tried, it doesn’t wo-work! Please, p-please let m-me go!!” It was hard to tell if the man’s stutter was caused solely by the gun being held to his head or if it was also a speech impediment.

“AS IF I’D LET YOUR STUPID ASS GO! DO YOU THINK I’M AN IDIOT? WHY DOESN'T IT WORK?” The woman pressed the gun closer to the trembling man’s head, pushing it slightly to the side.

“THE LIGHTS!! T-THE-THE LIGHTS! t-they’re out, if-if one of the cir-circuits broke it c-could have caused a temporary sho-short out,”

While the two had been… exchanging words, Ricky had managed to get behind the gunman. Right when the hero was about to get the gun from the girl a loud _CRASH_ rang out through the building. The culprit turned around at the noise, knocking right into Ricky.

The pair stared at each other down. Immediately she pointed the gun pointed at Ricky.

In an instinctual movement, Ricky put his right hand on the inside of her wrist, moved his head to the left and pushed the gun out of her hand with his right hand. The force applied sent the gun flying through the room. They both launched towards it.

  


* * *

There was now a hole in the roof of the main room. A bundle of bricks were lying in a pile, and in the centre was the most obnoxious royally clad hero that had ever lived, Ricky’s personal nemesis: ‘The Guardian’.

He thought of himself as the prince of America even though that title was taken by the hero Shane Madej aka The Golden Boy.

This guy would barge in anywhere, his first thought was probably either ‘how do I make the biggest eye-catching entrance ever’ or if that failed ‘where’s someone I can punch and get into the newspaper again?’

The Guardian was still sitting in his superhero pose in the middle of the pile of bricks waiting for some sort of response. When nothing happened he looked up and around the room noticing no one was there.

The… superhero, slowly rose to his feet sighing to himself before brushing off his blood orange, satin cape (it was red, let’s be honest. fucking pretentious). “No one’s here? So I almost ruined my cape for nothing!? Unbelievable.”

The self-obsessed man was on his way out when he heard a scuttle in one of the back rooms. “hmm, I guess I could check it out,” he took a second to shake his hands before puffing out his chest and kicking the door off of its hinges.

“Fear not for it is I, The Guardian!” As he barged in, he saw two people laying on the ground reaching for a gun, and a man cowering in the corner of the room, visibly praying for his life.

And then shit went down...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay just to clear any confusion, the story 'starts' on November 26, 1990, because that's Ryans/Ricky's birthday, from there I'm just time-skipping to 2009 so Ricky is 19 at this point.
> 
> Hope that clears it up!


	3. Don't hit the good guy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shit, the guy began looking hostile, and he didn’t seem to be on his way out to help the hostages. “What do you take me as, A fool...”
> 
> Ricky is not gonna lie, that was exactly what he thought of the man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is really short so I'll probably post another chapter in a day or two!

**Friday, November 6. 2009.**  
**Los Angeles.**

Ricky was quick to grab the gun, removed the magazine and emptied any bullets possibly still in the gun when the unnamed thief was looking at Mr Full of Himself. 

When the gun was no longer a thread he threw the magazine to the side, while still keeping the gun in his utility belt.

The Guardian looked around in confusion for a minute before settling on Ricky. His face turned into a scowl. “You! What in the gifted’s name are you doing here?! Haven’t you learnt from your parents’ mistakes? You villains belong in jail.”

If Ricky didn’t have to keep his eyes on the woman trying to rob the bank he would have probably punched the other hero in the face.

“I’m trying to keep this lady from shooting anyone and robbing a bank,” he said frankly, voice a little strained trying to keep focus.

Ricky managed to get a flimsy hold on the woman who had gotten to her feet. Ricky cursed as he tried to keep an eye on the robber and the newly arrived hero.

The lady was looking increasingly more and more frustrated.

In a swift movement, she reached under her jacket and pulled out a small utility knife. Great, she has another weapon…

She lunged for Ricky.

” Don’t you dare call me lady, you pansy!”

Not having seen the move in time Ricky got nicked in the arm and some of his blue cape, nothing bad but nonetheless annoying.

The now blood speckled knife was swinging left and right in an attempt to plant itself in Ricky’s chest.

“ Did you find the hostages? they are in the other room!” Ricky called out to The Guardian, hoping he would try to get them to safety.

The other hero was now floating slightly over the floor.

_yup the dude’s superpower was flying with a splash of super strength… it’s not like one of the most basic powers that you definitely haven’t seen in several movies and or comic books before!_

Shit, the guy began looking hostile, and he didn’t seem to be on his way out to help the hostages. “What do you take me as, A fool...”

_Ricky is not gonna lie, that was exactly what he thought of the man._

“...You just want me out of the room so you can take all the credit! But I see through you villain, you can’t fool me!!”

He launched himself at Ricky, landing a punch to the left side of his face, and fully knocking him of off his feet. His face felt like it was burning. The woman who Ricky had previously been trying to apprehend, while also dodging a knife, was now free of his grip.

She stumbled back a few steps before regaining her balance. Assessing the situation and coming to the conclusion that she could bail, and she did...

“NO, NO WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING! I had her, now she’s getting away!” 

The Guardian slung for him again, this time Ricky managed to dodge his fist. Ricky made a lunge of his own, his powers manifesting, reaching for the other hero in a grabbing motion.

Fear crossed the obnoxious hero’s face as the dense shadow came towards him. “You truly are a work of the devil!” His expression hardened into something disapproving and hateful.

Dodging the shadows lunging for him, The Guardian made another attempt to land a punch on Ricky.

While dodging yet another attack, Ricky tried to back away, his back hitting something hard and cold. Taking a quick glance at what he backed into he saw the door to the vault.

It was like a lightbulb going off over his head. Ricky concentrated his powers, not yet releasing but waiting for the right moment. When The Guardian got ready to launch at him again he didn’t move right away he stalled.

Right when the flying hero was about to make an impact, Ricky jumped to the side. He cast his powers on the door of the vault making it so the other man flew right through it as if there had been no door at all.

A crash could be heard from the other side and then Ricky retracted his powers…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone is wondering, I kinda based Ricky's powers on Raven from Teen Titans (the old one, not the one for kids).  
> The Guardian is just a basic superman without the super lol.


	4. A tragic event

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What do I want? Look now were talking!” she threw the hand holding the knife out to the side while still keeping a firm grip on the lady. And then the knife was back by the delicate throat, “I want to get out of here, no cops, no stupid Gifted getting in my way. And if that doesn’t happen…” she pressed the knife closer to the woman’s neck, making her shudder and sob loudly”... well, I bet you can imagine the rest.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHAPTER WARNING!!!!  
> MENTIONS OF BLOOD AND VIOLENCE! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK, EVEN IT THOUGH THIS WAS DARK AND I'M THE DAMN WRITER.

**Friday, November 6. 2009.**  
**Los Angeles.**

After making sure the vault was secure and The Guardian couldn’t get out in the near future, Ricky went to the man still praying for his life.

He was shaking and curled up in fetal position. “Hey man, it’s okay, you’re okay.” Ricky was now crouching beside the man, not too close giving him a bit of space to get it together.

Still whispering to himself the man tensed up. “Don’t worry buddy I’m not going to do anything to you buddy. I have to leave, there are still people in danger, will you be okay,” Ricky’s voice was filled with worry.

The shaking seemed to lessen to a slight tremble. The man looked up slowly, eyes meeting Ricky’s. His Adam’s apple bobbed once before he took a breath and said” is-is she g-gone?”

Ricky nodded not wanting to worry the man but not fully knowing if the woman in question had left. The man seemed to tremble for a second more before sighing in relief, he still looked frightened but now there was more exhaustion displayed on his features. His shoulders sagged and looked at Ricky with intent “he-help them, don’t wor-worry about me I’ll be f-fine.”

After getting confirmation from the man Ricky hurried to the door he had seen the hostages being led through.

Before Ricky can even reach for the door handle the door burst open…

Fuck…

The woman from the other room was there, she held another woman, who looked to be pregnant by the hair and held a knife to her throat. They locked eyes and the lady got a smug gleam in her eyes.

“ Good, you’re here I didn’t think we’d get to say goodbye,” Ricky slowly made his powers seep from his hands “Oh no you don’t! Stop your little smoke machine or the lady gets a bad cut into her larynx!”

“ Don’t think I don’t know who you are! I MEAN HONESTLY, I’m surprised to see you truýing to stopping me!? I mean your parents were some of the biggest villains in our history! So sad they had to get a pansy son like you…” Her voice turned ice cold and manic by the end of her monologue. _Another cliche, check._

When she mentioned his parents Ricky was shocked, to say the least. But shock turned cold and sour, a bubbling bitterness replaced it.

Ricky squared his shoulders and lifted his chin a bit.” My parents have nothing to do with who I am,” the woman tightened her grip on the pregnant lady’s hair, she whimpered in the criminal’s grip. 

A laugh escaped the lady” No no no NO, of course, your parents have nothing to do with that… Society does, do you really think you can run around and play hero when everyone thinks of you as a villain! I mean even that dumbass hero called you a villain! As if anyone would ever want you to save them!”

_Ouch, that stung… It is true, people had cowered away from him before because they believed he would harm them._

Ricky kept his confident stance, not wanting to show that her words had hit a sore spot. “What do you want,” no more beating around the bush, he needed to get these people out of here. 

A low clanging sound could be heard from behind Ricky, it was too low for them to care.

Her smirk only widened as if she knew exactly what her words had done. “What do I want? Look now were talking!” she threw the hand holding the knife out to the side while still keeping a firm grip on the lady. And then the knife was back by the delicate throat, “I want to get out of here, no cops, no stupid Gifted getting in my way. And if that doesn’t happen…” she pressed the knife closer to the woman’s neck, making her shudder and sob loudly”... well, I bet you can imagine the rest.”

Ricky took a hesitant step towards the women, lifting his hands up to show he wasn’t using his powers. When the lady with the knife didn’t react in any negative way he took another step, “please just don’t hurt her, then we’ll figure something out. maybe there-”

The clanging sound had slowly been increasing in volume and now it was interrupted by a loud **CRACK!** And the sound of something big, probably made of metal, hitting the ground.

The woman tightened her grip once again and looked towards the noise. “What the fuck was that?” As if on cue a dishevelled version of The Guardian stepped out of the room containing the vault.

Sweat was cascading down him, his suit seemed to sit even tighter than before if that was even possible? And his face was set in a deep scowl, looking beyond furious. “YOU!” He was pointing directly at Ricky, breathing heavily.

“ When I get my hands on you, you will regret you ever dared cross my path, you vile creature!” 

_Let’s just ignore the fact that he actually interrupted Ricky today…_

The man seemed to take a deep breath and compose himself a bit. He eyed the two women and seemed to make a decision with himself. “But alas you must wait, villain, first I need to save this fair maiden from that thief’s grasp.”

The aforementioned thief practically growls, “TAKE ONE STEP AND SHE’S A GONER!” The Guardian seems to ignore this statement in his frustrated state of mind. Lifting himself off the ground, his feet floating ever so slightly he began charging.

Ricky’s eyes widened in the realisation of what was about to happen. His right hand shot out in front of him in reaching movement. Just as quickly a dark mass was covering his hand and reaching for the knife.

Then, The Guardian made an impact, both women were thrown back. The man had a hold on the thief’s right arm that had previously held the knife.

The knife was now suspended in the air floating slightly to the left of where it had been before. A faint, slow dripping rung out through the room…

Ricky froze, blinking once, twice, thrice…

A deep sense of dread fills Ricky. As if a fog of despair had settled everyone in the building started to feel off? The Guardian turned to see what was causing him to feel this… this deep sadness. The room seemed dimmer except for one place, the pregnant lady. Her pale body stood out against the sudden darkness of the room, and a deep red coloured both the tiles beneath her and her neck.

She was still trying to gasp for air but it turned into more of a gurgling, the sight was gruesome but strangely pretty in some twisted way.

In the blink of an eye, a shadowy fist came flying towards The Guardian knocking him out cold. You aren’t going to cause more chaos today, Ricky thought. His mind admittedly felt foggy, it was probably the shock.

One thing was certain this woman needed help and the other hostages were still not safe. Ricky sharply turned towards the woman who had been holding the knife, he could feel anger seething underneath the foggy layer in his mind but nevermind that right now.

“ You, take her out to the police and turn yourself in. If I figure out you ever doing anything remotely criminal again… Well, I bet you can imagine the rest.” The woman shivered, she looked as if she’d looked into the eyes of the devil. She gave a quick nod seeming to afraid to speak. “NOW!” She jolted from her position lifting the pregnant lady up bridal style with surprising ease and half jogged to the door.

Now that that’s dealt with there were only the hostages left. 

The three men hadn’t been hard to either knock out or just tie-up with zip ties.  


* * *

Ricky remembers leading the hostages to the door and then everything is blank until he woke up in his bed the next day.

He was out of his super gear, only wearing his Deadpool boxers and sports socks on. Ricky rubbed his eyes, he rolled out of bed with a thud, he a loud groan. Getting on his hands and knees to then grab the bed for leverage to get to his feet.

Ricky stumbled into his kitchen turning on the coffee machine and leaning against the counter while waiting for the bitter bean juice to be ready to be consumed.

When the coffee was done he grabbed it took a big slurp, burning the top of his mouth slightly but not caring much. he stumbled to his living room plopped into the couch and turned on the TV on the news channel.

Ricky wasn’t really listening, he only wanted some background noise to feel less lonely in the morning. Then the news lady, Brianna? mentioned something about California Bank & Trust in LA. 

Wait? Wasn’t that? The memories of yesterday flooded back into the centre of his thoughts. He shook his head trying to get rid of the bad feeling creeping in on him. Then He looked at the screen and read the text on the bottom of the screen.

The Guardian keeps us safe from not one, but two threats!

Confused by how that jackass could ever accomplish something like that, Ricky decides to listen to the news lady.

“ -hat started as a normal robbery quickly turned into a disaster when the presumed son of the villains, Maggie and Alexander Goldsworth better known as The Creators of Chaos. These two villains were active a few years back until Alexander was suspected to have passed away, and Maggie got caught and sentenced to life in prison shortly after. They had a son in 1990 when they were still considered heroes, where their son is, is currently unknown although there is a suspicion that he has a residency here in La…”

It was bizarre hearing about yourself on TV, Ricky knew who his parents were and what they did so he had always been careful to use a fake name when he bought stuff.

“ Shortly after the villains entered the bank, The Guardian an upcoming hero arrived at the scene. The Guardian himself spoke about the incident as such,” The screen cut to a clip taken outside the bank, there was a crowd all staring at the entrance. When the door opened and The Guardian stepped out, the crowd erupted into shouts all asking different things.

“ Excuse me, sir! What is your name, and can you tell us what happened!” A microphone was shoved into the man’s face. The Hero didn’t seem bothered by the many people at all, he just put on a smile and started answering. 

“ I am The Guardian dear citizen! And as for what happened-” He went on a long ramble about how he had rushed to the scene as soon as he heard the commotion. He had found a man dressed from head to toe in black and blue clothes, with a mask covering most of his face.

The man (Ricky) had blown off the door to the vault and tried to steal the money but of course, he had swooped in to save the day! After he had managed that, the villain had fled to his accomplishes and forced one of the other thugs to take the pregnant lady captive so he could escape.

In some turn of events that made no sense, Ricky can’t comprehend how anyone would believe that shit! The villain had apparently forced his accomplish to cut the throat of the poor pregnant woman. 

After that, his explanation became very brief, funnily enough, Ricky also seems to remember he was unconscious at this point. 

Long story short is that The Guardian had portrayed himself as the hero and Ricky as the villain who had apparently planned all this shit. The worst thing was, that everyone believed him, now Ricky was truly a villain in the eyes of the public.

They also had pictures of Ricky entering the building before he had cut off all electricity from the building...

This was the moment Ricky realised the woman had been right. It wasn’t about who his parents were, yes that certainly didn’t help his case but he would first completely be a villain when society saw him as such.

Turns out that day was today...

well if the world wanted a villain, they would fucking get one. But not on behalf of his parents, Ricky would reshape himself to fit what society wanted, but god damn was he going to do it by his own terms!

Ricky turned off the TV not wanting to listen to it anymore. He stood and walked to a small dresser, opening the top drawer.

He took out a small card, an ID card. On it was a name he used rarely, Ryan Bergara…

He looked at the name for a while, he would have probably cried his he wasn’t feeling so strangely numb at the moment.

I guess this is goodbye Ricky Goldsworth, and hello Ryan Bergara.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly hats off to people who write every day, this shit is hard!  
> For my first fic I think I'm doing good tho, but please do point out spelling, gramma or just dumb mistakes!


	5. A lazy morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryan got stood up, his legs cramping sending pinpricks in waves. His face scrunched up in disdain, _fuck he hated that feeling!_. Ryan grabbed his now, empty coffee mug and trudged to the kitchen.

**Saturday, November 7. 2009.**  
**Los Angeles.**

It wasn’t even 1 Pm and Ricky- No Ryan, he’d have to get used to that.

It wasn’t even 1 Pm and **Ryan** had already spent hours on the internet, trying to find any and all information on himself.

He had considered going down to a local bar that was open 24/7 to get shitfaced. Ryan wanted to forget about his problems, but alas he decided his first day with a new identity shouldn’t be filled with alcohol and crying himself to sleep. That could wait till tomorrow. 

Luckily there didn’t seem to be a lot of information about his early life. Most articles mentioning the name Ricky Goldsworth were focused on his parents and their road to villainy. Ryan also found a few pictures of himself in hero gear, most were very blurry.

One semi-decent picture was of him having just jumped out of a window with a little girl in his arms. The window frame was engulfed in flames, it gave his blue and grey suit, a green and yellow tint.

The little girl had been trapped in her room, her parents had been out of town as far as he heard and the nanny had been sleeping on the couch

The article said something about the nanny having been dragged out of the building by the firemen. Rosie, Ryan smiled at that, it was nice knowing her name. Rosie had been trapped in her room, some of the roof had apparently crashed down in front of her door.

Ryan only really remembered getting in through the window and getting the girl out of the burning building. He had cradled her in his arms hoping to give her a bit of comfort through the traumatising experience. 

Then he landed on the ground and the little girl was pulled out of his arms, the nanny checked her for bruises before both were driven away in an ambulance...

Ryan ended up spending a couple of hours reading over the articles, many ended with him frowning at the screen. The journalist would twist the deeds he had done to try and help people, they made his actions sound as if he had some ulterior motive!

How could they make saving a little girl sound bad!?!!

Ryan closed his laptop, but not before checking the time, it was 4:13 pm. 

Ryan got stood up, his legs cramping sending pinpricks in waves. His face scrunched up in disdain, _fuck he hated that feeling!_. Ryan grabbed his now, empty coffee mug and trudged to the kitchen.

He placed the mug in the sink, not bothering to clean it yet. Ryan scratched his face feeling the slight stubble on his chin, _should he start growing out his beard? Maybe Ryan Bergara was a beard guy, maybe a moustache!_ He hadn’t thought about it, but this was his chance to let go of his past and really start fresh.

Ryan ended up standing in front of the bathroom mirror with a small note block and a green ballpoint pen. His eyes drifted from his reflection to the little block of paper, at the top of the page was a quick scrawl.

**NEW LIFE, NEW ME!**

It looked like he was writing new years resolutions, and in some ways, it was the same… right? 

Ryan ran a hand over the bottom of his face again. Thoughtfully he wrote _Grow a moustache_ as the first point.

After several minutes of looking in the mirror and scrawling down new things he thought of, the page was filled to the bottom.

**NEW LIFE, NEW ME!**

* Grow a moustache  
* Get a new apartment  
* Get drunk (soon)  
* Get a new costume (don’t look theatrical this time)  
* Be more active in the community  
* ~~Get laid~~  
* Buy new clothes  
* Popcorn  
* Get a new job

Ryan had admittedly just written whatever came to mind, there were definitely some things that were more important than others but in the end, he felt the list did reflect everything he needed.

Ryan spent the rest of his day searching for cheap apartments that he could afford.


	6. Background noise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> But sometimes Ryan woke up and felt lonely; when that feeling became overwhelming he would appreciate any and all sounds.

**Sunday, November 8. 2009.**  
**Los Angeles.**

Ryan had spent all evening yesterday, on his couch, searching for suitable apartments; at some point, he put on a Netflix series to give him some background noise.

Many places Ryan found seemed nice in the pictures but the profiles looked outdated or sketchy at best, among all the bad places he had found a few gems (many times out of his budget sadly). He had fallen asleep like that; Pc on his lap, Netflix running in the background, looking for a new apartment…

Ryan woke up on his couch feeling a little lost as if he had woken up in a strange apartment that he didn’t belong in. Ryan often slept on the couch, he felt safer and liked having the TV running with some stupid show in the background. 

But sometimes Ryan woke up and felt lonely; when that feeling became overwhelming he would appreciate any and all sounds.

… Maybe he should add getting a friend to his to-do list, but that would also just look sad. Okay, it was maybe a teeny tiny bit sad, but not more than that!

After twenty minutes of just laying on the couch with closed eyes pretending he didn’t exist to escape from the expectations of the world, he got up, still in his boxers from yesterday. Feeling uncomfortable and sweaty, Ryan decided to out and take a shower.

While in the shower Ryan remembered that he was supposed to go the gym today. _Well, seem like I’ll shower twice today, great…_

In the shower, Ryan refrained from washing his hair properly this time around, only washing it with water. Right now he chose to just focus on washing the worst sweat smell away, thinking he’d wash up properly after going to the gym.

Strolling down the street in a pair of black basketball shorts and an old Lakers jersey, Ryan was mumbling along to Hit the back by Kingprincess. Ryan was a regular in a small local gym, he’d never really spoken to the owners other than the day he applied for membership. Angy and Tom? Tim? Maybe Sam??? He admittedly couldn’t remember, but they were somewhat of a ‘Power couple’ both literally and figuratively.  
They worked together wonderfully, and their chemistry was undeniable. They were like two cogs in a well working machine.

Angy and her husband were both gifted. Instead of using their powers for fighting crime, they used their abilities to help people get into shape. Angy’s power was motivational speaking, _sounds strange but trust me it works wonders._

She could speak to anyone and light the fire in their eyes. Ryan had seen it first hand.

And like a true hero, she was very open about her power and wouldn’t use it without asking for consent from whoever she wanted to motivate first.

Ryan had never really figured out what her husband’s power was, he knew he was gifted because he’d overheard Angy talk about his parent’s being disapproving of him wasting his gift.

Ryan stepped into the gym nodding politely to Angy and another regular who was chatting by the entrance. Normally he would have been there for an hour and gone home, but today he just needed to work out until he couldn’t remember what his name was. Working out until he couldn’t think straight (as if he ever could), Ryan stumbled home and directly into the shower again.

While the water was cascading of off him, he applied shampoo to his hair and let his thoughts wander. There was supposed to be a demonstration a few streets down, Ryan couldn’t remember exactly where, but he had bookmarked the Facebook event for this exact reason.

Ryan also needed to make a new Facebook. He had never really posted anything wanting to stay mostly anonymous as Ricky, but maybe now he could have a normal social media? Avoiding most of the popular social platforms in order to stay out of the public eye had been somewhat frustrating, he had never felt like he could indulge in many of his interest. 

Ryan washed out the shampoo making sure to close his eyes. He stepped out of the shower, still dripping he grabbed the towel he had placed on top of his washing machine. Shaking his head a couple of times, feeling his hair hit the sides of his head lightly before drying his hair.

Ryan walked out of the bathroom, only a towel around his hips and went to pick up his computer. Typing his password and opening his Facebook bookmarks, Ryan searched for the event.

The event was a peaceful protest against discrimination towards minorities, specifically The Wasted and Gifted people of colour. The event was around 20 minutes away by foot, and…

It started an hour ago…


	7. Descendant of bigfoot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shane was tall and he weighed kind of a lot, yes he was lean tipping on the just plain thin side of the spectrum, but with all his height people tended to be shocked at how heavy he was. Mr strong as a FUCKING GOD didn’t even tremble when lifting his weight and bringing Shane to his feet.

**Sunday, November 8. 2009.**  
**Los Angeles.**

Shane was standing to the side observing the protest. Some people were chatting amongst themselves and others were chanting with passion, creating a melody with their combined voices.

It was incredibly beautiful how whole crowds would come together to support each other. He scanned the crowd making sure that the peaceful protest stayed peaceful. Shane was only wearing his utility belt where he kept a bunch of minerals and metals in case anyone was to cause any big trouble. He wasn’t wearing his super suit, it attracted too much attention if you were to ask him, but his manager insisted that it inspired people and lifted their spirits.

_what a bunch of bullshit, it was all commercial stuff that was good for his ‘Golden Boy’ brand._

When he used his powers it attracted enough attention as is. Substance mimicry wasn’t really easy to hide once you used it. Shane had gotten the name ‘The Golden Boy’ because of a dumb happenstance with his powers.

Shane was an up-and-coming hero back then, he had almost lost a fight with some wannabe villain and Shane was desperate to find anything that he could mimic and use to his advantage. When his hand landed on something hard he didn’t think twice before letting his body take on the same atomic structure as the object he just touched. 

It was first when he walked out into the crowd of photographers, journalist and reporters Shane realised that the thing he had touched was gold… 

not pure gold but that didn’t matter to all the people who would see his picture plastered on every news article calling him ‘The Golden Boy’ and the future of superheroes.

Shane was lost in thought when something collided with his chest, making him fall. He landed on the ground with a huff. Shane could hear people gasping, and he looked down at what or rather who had toppled him.

Looking down Shane saw a dark brown, almost black, head of hair. One of the stranger’s hands were on the ground and the other was firmly placed on Shane’s stomach. The strange man shook his head and looked around in what seemed like confusion before glancing up at Shane.

The hero looked down into the man’s eyes smirking slightly. His skin was tan, enough to see he wasn’t just some white guy who liked tanning. His skin looked shiny with a light layer of sweat, indicating he had been running for a while before quite literally running into Shane.

His eyes were a myriad of brown nuances, they looked iridescent in the sun. His hair looked fluffy and wonderfully tousled, Shane could almost imagine seeing this stranger lying beside him in bed.

“Fuck! I’m so sorry dude, I didn’t mean to I was-” Shane interrupted the pretty man’s panicked ramble “hey, calm down little guy, don’t stress yourself.” The man’s face scrunched up in an affronted scowl “I’m not little, I am average height!!” Shane laughed lightly at the way the stranger’s voice went up a pitch.

Shane stalled taking in more of the man before having to part ways. The man caught his eye. First, it was only his appearance, the man was admittedly easy on the eyes and Shane had an appreciation of pretty things.

When the stranger had opened his mouth Shane had found himself enraptured in a different way, the nervous and unsure way the man spoke came as a shock. Normally when Shane saw a pretty face they tended to be overly rude and annoyingly arrogant.

“well little guy, as lovely as it is to have you lying on me, I’m lying on the ground and my pants are getting damp.” His eyes widened and he sprung to his feet his eyes going black for a second before returning to their natural brown. _Huh he’s also gifted…_

Shane liked to imagine the stranger running around town being a hero, dressed in the customary tight clothes that all the heroes displayed. The brown eyes man would fight crime with a steady fist and the drive of justice. Or maybe the seemingly nervous man wasn’t a fighter, although of what body Shane could see, it was a temple made built to be victorious.

Perhaps the man prefered to have a normal job, perhaps he enjoyed the little things in life and stood up to fight justice only at places like these. A freedom fighter for and of the people.

The smaller man was staring at Shane who was still laying on the ground. He held out a hand, a wordless offer and Shane took it without hesitation.

Shane was tall and he weighed kind of a lot, yes he was lean tipping on the just plain thin side of the spectrum, but with all his height people tended to be shocked at how heavy he was. Mr strong as a FUCKING GOD didn’t even tremble when lifting his weight and bringing Shane to his feet.

 _Control yourself! Man I might need to get laid if this guy can floor me this easily._

When Shane was standing at his full height the little guy looked up in what Shane could only call wonder.

“ Holy fuck dude, I’m not small you are just a goddamn giant! Are you a descendant of bigfoot or something!?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so Shane's powers is something called Substance mimicry.
> 
> To quote Fandom Wiki "Substance mimicry is the ability to mimic the physical properties of any substance the character encounters." so yeah... Although he has to have direct contact with the thing to mimic it.


	8. Coffee date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> But today, Ryan took a chance. He didn’t want to lose this feeling of happiness that he’d only held for such a brief time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woooow, I posted again... _*nervous laughter*_
> 
> So sorry I left you hanging for a while, but!! I will say I'm quite happy with this chapter!  
> I finally feel like I'm getting into the real story!
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Sunday, November 8. 2009.**  
**Los Angeles.**

After bumping into a stranger who looked somewhat familiar, now that Ryan got a good look at him. Landing on top of said stranger, and then accidentally asking if he was the offspring of bigfoot. Ryan felt embarrassed and apologetic, to say the least.

Ryan asked the guy if he could buy him lunch or maybe a cup of coffee to make up for his stupidity. Surprisingly the stranger accepted.

The tall man brushed some nonexisting dirt from his pants, leaving Ryan a chance to identify who he was. He couldn’t remember ever meeting a tall hipster who carried a fanny pack. The man was wearing a jean jacket with a red and black plaid flannel, paired with black skinny jeans.

Oh my god… He’s a lesbian!

The man righted himself and saw Ryans furrowed eyebrows and his slightly open mouth. “Uh, do I have anything on my face uum, dude?” The tall guys face scrunched up in what could only be described as “cringe” when he uttered the word ‘dude’.

Ryan shook himself out of his previous dumb thoughts by laughing at the funny expression the stranger made.

“No, no dude. I uh, I just realized that I haven’t gotten your name yet!” Good save Bergara! “I’m Ryan by the way,” he stuck his hand out towards the man.

He laughed endearingly, took Ryan’s hand and said “my name is Shane! Good to meet ya, pal!” His voice had gotten so cartoony and goofy that Ryan almost missed the realisation he got. 

A familiar face, his name is Shane, he is REALLY tall…

The only person Ryan would know off who fit all those criteria is, Shane Madej. 

The god damn Golden Boy.

Of fucking course Ryan would run into the biggest hero in the city AND invite him for coffee, in one day. Ryan felt like Peter Paker when he had all of his quote on quote ‘Paker luck’.  
Shane must have seen the shock on his face because his hands quickly shot out in front of him as if to calm a frightened animal. “Little guy I promise all that superhero stuff, it’s not really me! Well it is **me** , but it’s not like you should treat me like a hero… Oh god, I sound like a pretentious asshole. Please just, act normal?” It sounded more like a question than anything.

He seemed genuinely worried about me treating him different.

Ryan cracked a smile to the taller man, “don’t worry bigfoot, I won’t treat you any different.”

Shane scratched the back of his neck a slight blush appearing on his cheeks, “thanks, man.” They slowly started walking down the street. Stupid small talk filled the space between them. This feels strangely natural, Ryan thought enjoying the moment with Shane.

If Ryan had added friends to his list of what he wanted from his ‘new life’, maybe he would have been able to cross it out by the end of today.

“Hey look! Why don’t we go in there and continue our conversation?” They had gotten onto the topic of education. Ryan had mentioned his love for film and filmmaking, which led Shane to ask if he had ever worked in film production. Ryan had quickly gotten into a long rant about how he in high school had taken advanced film productions as a course, and how he had started a bachelor in fine arts television and broadcast journalism.

A little embarrassed by his rant, but quickly calmed by Shane saying he liked hearing about film stuff because he was also a major nerd. Ryan had asked Shane if he had any education outside of hero-business.

Shane had also gone on a bit of a rant, not as enthused as Ryan’s but albeit a semi-long one. Shane talked about how his parents were very set on him having a good education although he had presented as a Gifted early in life. 

The big guy had gotten his Undergraduate degree about two years ago and now he was deep in med school. Shane talked about being happy to be able to help people by being a hero but also wanting a quiet life where he didn’t have to worry about some villain one day using those he loved against him. 

Shane wanted to be a surgeon because he wanted to save people, but he also wanted to return home by the end of the day and have a family waiting for him.

Ryan was enamoured by Shane talking he felt moved, and he could recognise that longing to help others… but now that wasn’t really on the table anymore.

A waitress came by with two cups of coffee bringing the boys out of their conversation.

Shane leaned in over his coffee and breathed in the smell, his eyes closed lightly and Ryan burst out laughing. “Dude you look like you just got your next hit, what the hell!” He practically wheezed out the last three words.  
Shane opened his eyes small wrinkles appearing by the outside of his eyes, his face scrunching up in a smile. “What! Don’t act as if you don’t get a religious experience when smelling the greatness of coffee!”

Ryan wheezed again, unable to breathe for how much he was laughing. After using five minutes to calm himself and get his breath back Ryan attempted speaking, ”Man, Shane, please don’t try to kill me. I swear I couldn’t breathe for a full minute!!”

Shane shook his head looking at Ryan like he had done something incredible, something to be proud of.

Ryan’s breath caught, he ended up choking on it and was now coughing up a storm. “HOLY SHIT, are you okay!” Ryan held up a hand, his voice still slightly choked “yeah, yeah. Don’t worry I just choked on some air.”

They drank their coffee and continued to choke on their respective drinks while laughing at the other’s strange antics.

When their cups were empty and their daily social needs met, they asked for the bill. “I’ll pay it doesn’t make sense to split since it’s so little” Ryan put down a five-dollar bill to make it final.

Shane surprisingly didn’t object although he did quip in with something Ryan hadn’t expected. “So Ryan, I had a good time and um, since you paid now… Why don’t we meet up for another cup some other time? my treat.”

Shane seemed nervous. He wasn’t looking at Ryan, and his hand started fidgeting with his sleeve.

Ryan thought of it for a bit, if he said yes he would have gotten his first friend since kindergarten. Shane was nice and funny, and Ryan felt as if he bloomed in his company. It all seemed too good to be true, and if Ryan had ever learned anything it was that when things seemed too good to be true, it probably was.

But today, Ryan took a chance. He didn’t want to lose this feeling of happiness that he’d only held for such a brief time.

Ryan squared his shoulders, looked directly at Shane who still wasn’t looking at Ryan and said, “yeah, y’know, I think I’d like that.”

Shane looked up and saw Ryan’s radiant smile. To Shane, his smile lit up the little booth they had settled into. 

Shane smiled back, excited to get to know the small man.

Ryan.

His name echoed in Shanes thought while they exchanged phone numbers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I hope you liked this chapter.
> 
> I might make some art to this story at some point, ALSOOOOO If you want a good story to read I'd recommend "How to Befriend the Monster in Your Closet" by Golden4278.
> 
> The author (Erin) is wonderful and she is a great storyteller! 
> 
> here's a link - https://archiveofourown.org/works/24022048
> 
> (I might also do a fanfic recommendation in the End notes from now on, just boosting some of the fics I enjoy.)


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Their friendship slowly but surely grew, and Ryan was now getting prepared for their next meeting.

**Monday, November 19. 2009.**  
**Los Angeles.**

Shane Madej.

What a strange man, 11 days had passed since Ryan saw him last. 

The two men had gotten into texting each other. It all started with Shane sending a Crabcore meme out of the blue.

Ryan had thought him ridiculous but sent his own Crashing Squirrel meme back.

Both men had laughed at the memes not being able to breathe for a little while. 

As more time passed they began to text more. Ryan had begun texting Shane about this new creepypasta called Slender Man. Shane said it was _“all a bunch of baloney”_ and Ryan, while not truly believing the story, had still spent quite a couple of nights sleepless, looking out his window expecting to see the tall slender figure. 

Their friendship slowly but surely grew, and Ryan was now getting prepared for their next meeting.

The place was the same as last time (not the corner where Ryan had toppled the other man, but in the café).

And Shane… Well, Shane was at home in his big penthouse apartment, lounging on the couch, playing Snake on his iPhone 3G.

He still had about an hour left before heading out to meet Ryan. 

The small guy had made a real impression on Shane, his laugh lit up him from the inside and out. Shane wasn’t used to feeling like this…

Maybe he was coming down with something?

The tall hero reached his hand out and curled his long fingers around a glass of cold crisp water. It sat on his dark wood coffee table with gold engravings on the side.

Dark brown, beige, white and gold. Everything in his apartment had one of these colours. If Shane was honest he didn’t even like the colours that much, he had just agreed with the designer lady when she asked if this or that was okay.

The apartment was expensive to put it in simple terms. Everything Shane owned was expensive, but the place lacked a soul, it was but a room lacking so much while being filled to the brim with beautiful objects and expensive nick-nacks.

Yes, he had a cool phone to play snake on, A cool ass bathtub and an actual apartment! Imagine, being a homeowner! He had everything while also having nothing.

Before leaving his small apartment Ryan sent out a couple of job applications and checked his Email for any possible responses to the ones hed sent out earlier that month.

He closed his computer when seeing his inbox empty except for a couple of adds and spam Emails saying one of his relatives had died.

Ryan started towards the café.

Once arriving 10 minutes before time, he nervously waited outside.

It was unusually windy outside so after waiting 10 minutes Ryan was cold, he shivered lightly and his hands were firmly tugged into his jacket pockets.

Shane arrived right on time and smiled brightly when he saw Ryan until noticing his shivering body.

“How long have you been out here? C’mon, let’s get you inside and warm you up.” Shane put a gentle hand on Ryan’s lower back. Warmth spread out through the younger man’s body where the hand was placed.

While being ushered into the café Ryan could only feel happiness. If all it took was 10 minutes of cold to get such a warm response out of the taller man, Ryan wouldn’t hesitate to do it again.

Shane kept schooling Ryan about how next time he should just go inside and wait for him. 

And there it was again, Shane saying there would be a next time.

Ryan probably wouldn’t admit it but he had gotten just a teeny tiny crush on Shane since their first meeting, or maybe he had gotten it when they first met? it was unclear when, but a crush had grown, so the prospect of another next time exited the younger man.

As they sat down in an empty booth Ryan tuned into Shane rambling again. “You do know that it isn’t healthy to stay in the cold for extended periods of time right? I mean you seem extremely smart, quite the research nut if you ask me but you make it work in your own jocky way.”

“Jock? Are you seriously calling me a jock?!” Ryan found the prospect laughable, he was probably the furthest you could get from a jock. I mean yeah he enjoyed basketball and keeping a nice physique but that was all! 

“You’re kidding, right? You are the most jock like person I’ve ever spoken to. I mean you talk about baseball all the time!” Ryan sputtered at this. “Basketball, I like basketball, how did you manage to mix the two?!” Ryan laughed with disbelief and genuine glee.

“Oh please, I bet you are in one of those houses where a bunch of dudes get together, drink and have parties all the time. Those for cool kids.” Shane gestured wildly with his arms while trying to explain himself, “you mean a frat house?”

“Exactly! Those! You are definitely apart of one!” Ryan laughed again, he found it a little endearing hearing Shane trying to explain what a frat was. “Trust me when I say I am not, believe it or not, I’m a huge nerd. When you are this much of a movie nerd you don’t hang with the cool kid’s.”

It sounded sadder than it was, Ryan enjoyed his time in university but he was also aware that he wouldn’t be chosen as ‘coolest dude of the year’ if there was ever such nomination.

Their conversation stayed light and Shane kept pressing on insisting that Ryan must be apart of some of the frat culture.


	10. Art theif

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In a way, his villainy was a sort of getting back at the society for wanting him to be evil and cruel. It’s like when a sibling asks you if you’re angry and the more they keep asking the more angry you get even if you hadn’t been in the start.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We get into Ryan's first act of villainy, yaaay!

**Thursday, December 31. 2009.**  
**Los Angeles.**

It was time, Ryan’s first act of villainy.

It was small and something he thought he could easily get away with.

Robbing a small government-funded museum. 

The newly shaped villain had done a bunch of research and planning before making a move. He’d gone to the museum one day staying for five hours checking which places had security cameras, when security changed and what art he thought was most expensive but also easiest to steal.

After taking a lot of pictures and also making sure to actually admire some of the art so as to not draw attention to himself, Ryan went home and read about the museum online.

None of the art, unsurprisingly, seemed to be too important or in the public eye.

The day was also carefully planned. New years eve, the museum was closed and the police would be occupied with a lot of other things, like rogue fires and people getting into fights.

A couple of years back Ryan had accidentally stumbled over a building on fire, he had assumed it was caused by some stray firework. He had been quick to dial 311 but had ended up on hold for about 10 minutes before a lady sounding very stressed tried her best to help him as fast as possible.

And yes it might be cruel to use a day like this to his advantage, but if you haven’t caught on Ryan is kinda trying to do evil!

In a way, his villainy was a sort of getting back at the society for wanting him to be evil and cruel. It’s like when a sibling asks you if you’re angry and the more they keep asking the more angry you get even if you hadn’t been in the start.

Well by now Ryan was done being asked if he was mad. His anger had built-up, and while he would still try his best to keep civilians out of harm, anyone who had gotten the luxury of being called a hero without any reason had better look out.

_Thinking about you Guardian…_

Now the day had come, he was actually going to steal the art, It, to Ryan’s surprise went incredibly well.

Their security was underwhelming, he suspected their cameras to not even be on when he fried the wires.

The security guards were sloppy, so when Ryan snuck up behind the one on duty, he hadn’t noticed before waking up an hour later with a hurting neck and the thief had left.

Three paintings were gone, all relatively small in size, but large enough to give the suitcase Ryan was carrying them in some weight.

  


* * *

The Art looked great on the walls of Ryan’s new apartment. He had gotten an offer he couldn’t afford to say no to, a small two-bedroom flat, rent was 1200 dollars.

One of the nice things about having famous villain parents was that he had a hidden bank account with some money, okay maybe a lot of money.

Ryan had never really dared to touch the money, except for if he was in dire need. Now he for the first time felt like spending some of the money without a deep dread falling upon him.

Ryan wanted to treat himself! and so he grabbed his phone to call Shane. It hadn’t been that long since they talked but it was new years eve! Heck Ryan went to his fridge and poured himself a glass of champagne.

Drinking his first glass in one go before pressing the call button.

It dialled once.

Twice..

Thri- “Hello!! I’m sorry the connection is so shitty, makes sense since new years and all that. So what I was saying Scott, I think I just wanna do something reckless y’know! Do something wild, lose my inhibitions!!!!”

…That was not what Ryan expected. Shane sounded tipsy, a strange childlike wonder that Ryan hadn’t heard before was ingrained in the words he spoke. “Scott? Hey man, did the connection die again?” 

“Hey, big guy! Uh no, I’m sorry it’s Ryan. I can call back if it is? I could hear you have a very interesting conversation waiting.” Ryan was about to hang up feeling a bit embarrassed for having called Shane in the middle of the night, on new years fucking eve!

But right before his finger slid over the end call button Shane’s voice sounded clear as day. “NO! I mean, it’s not important. I- I‘d rather talk to you, especially considering you called me! So uhhh what’s up Bergmister?”

Ryan’s heart swelled a bit at the nickname, his reaction strengthened by the alcohol that was slowly starting to enter into his system. 

“I, I actually don’t know… I just felt like calling you I guess?” It came out more like a question than anything. Shane laughed that soft laugh of his, Ryan could almost picture the way his eyes closed and his face scrunched up in that adorably exaggerated way.

“So please correct me if I’m wrong, but it doesn’t seem you have anything to do right now. Y’know since you called me out of nowhere with no apparent goal. So maybe you could come to my place?”

Ryans heart was racing” I, Yeah definitely! I’d love to… are you sure?”

That sweet warm laugh rang out again, “I think it should be me asking you that. Oh and by the way I should probably inform you I am a little bit inebriated, just saying.”

Ryan got Shane’s address and began 20 minutes later he was at Shane’s place.

Ryan went into the foyer, he stopped by a little desk where a nice looking woman stood with a warm smile on her face.

“Hello, I’m here to see Shane? Do I just go up or, what are the rules?” The lady smiled reassuringly, ”You’re Mr Bergara right? Shane will be down in a minute, he insisted on coming down to get you himself,” almost as if on cue one of the elevators Dinged! and Shane stepped out.

He was wearing a faded blue button-up shirt with a black, or was it dark blue? v-neck sweater with two light grey stripes by the collar. His pants were a faded light grey that matched the two stripes.

The whole look was brought together by the slight blush to Shanes face and his ruffled hair.

He looked gorgeous and Ryan forgot how to breathe until Shane’s voice cut through the silence.

“HEY! Ryan! Hello Cathrine! Are you ready to go up or do you need to finish a conversation?” Shane smiled this goofy smile that made Ryan weak in the knees and reached his hand out for Ryan to take.

The woman, Cathrine, noded and her smile broadened when she laid eyes on Ryan’s face. She knew, and in some ways that terrified him, but right now that didn’t matter. 

Ryan nodded back to Cathrine and placed his hand in Shane’s.

Their hands didn’t fit together like puzzle pieces, but somehow in Ryan’s mind, that was better.

Shane’s hand was awkwardly big, but it also felt safe. His hand was engulfed by the warmth of the bigger hand.

They turned away from the counter and towards the elevator, Shane pressed some buttons and then they were on their way up, up up.

The only thing Ryan could think of was his hand in Shane’s, and for some reason, he knew that that was the same thing on Shane’s mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was only supposed to be like 500 words, cause I've been writing a deadass boring essay today and I didn't feel like writing anymore...
> 
> But then I got really into it and voila! Almost 1300 words! more than double!


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm so fucking sorry for the wait! This chapter has actually been done for quite some time but I wanted to do some art for it and I just couldn't FUC*ING FINISH IT.... I still couldn't really, so now, well I'll let you see for yourself.
> 
> (the background of the pic look dope ngl, but the characters, uff I just got such an art block)

**Thursday, December 31. 2009.**  
**Los Angeles.**

When Shane opened the door to his apartment, Ryan had to blink a couple of times to really take in the extravagance that was Shane’s apartment. The beige wooden floors stretched as wide as his eyes reached, unblemished and looking incredibly soft.

A small, yet iridescent, chandelier hung from the ceiling, lighting up the room with a natural glow. On Ryan’s right stood a dark brown commode with delicate gold and white nick-nacks. Shane took Ryan’s jacket and hung it among all of his clean-cut black overcoats.

Suddenly Ryan felt out of place…

But in a way, he thought Shane looked out of place too?

Yes, he wore some fancy clothes sometimes, now being one of them. But Shane just seemed like someone who’d want a small nerdy apartment, filled with nerdy trinkets and an old record player. 

Ryan had been sure Shane would have a cat… And this apartment was wayyyy to clean to have a cat.

Shane’s hand tugging slightly on Ryans’, extracted him from his thoughts.

Ryan looked up at Shane after quickly taking off his shoes and placing them by the others. Shane had a goofy smile on his face and his eyes kept blinking as if fighting away sleep. Shane had said he’d been drinking a bit, maybe even more than Ryan had thought.

Suddenly Ryan felt slightly guilty for accepting Shane’s invitation when he was in this state, What if he regretted giving Ryan his address in the morning?

It felt like taking advantage, but he also didn’t feel like he could just leave now, that would be rude.

‘Keep it clean and make sure Shane is comfortable and can make his own choices.’ Ryan’s thoughts repeated that sentence. He would make sure to not do anything inappropriate or let Shane do anything inappropriate.

By now they’d landed on the couch with a bowl of popcorn on the table, Shane had gotten a glass of water when Ryan had denied any alcoholic beverages for himself.

The TV was turned on to some channel displaying a countdown till the new year, 6 minutes and 26, 25, 24, 23, 22 seconds left.

2010, a new year, a new beginning. A new life…

Ryan glanced over at Shane and found him looking back.

Ryan smiled, just a small one. He was mourning the name he’d left behind, he knew it wasn’t necessary if he really thought about it, but Ricky had tried to be good, he’d spent his life trying to fix his parents reputation.

Now people would have to know a new name, it wasn’t Ricky robbing a small museum it was Ryan. Any action he did now was to prove he hadn’t been a villain, and any action he did now wouldn’t be thought of as a result of his parents.

Now was a new time, he was going to enter a new year with someone for once, a friend…

Low shouts began to fill the large living room, people counting down.

“10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, HAPPY NEW YEARS!!!”

The shouts were drowned out by the bangs coming from the fireworks.

Shane and Ryan still just sat there looking at each other.

If they both turned their heads to look behind them and the couch they would see a mirage of beautiful colors. Fireworks exploding and painting the night sky with iridescent colors.

Shane turned his gaze down to their still interlocked hands.

Ryan followed his gaze and saw Shane slowly start to stroke his knuckles. “I, I normally hate this. People touching me, or me touching others… It feels like a hundred small spiders crawling down my spine when someone reaches out for me, friend or stranger, especially strangers.”

He looked up then, looking into Ryan’s eyes searching, confused,” but, you don’t feel like that… It- it feels nice to hold your hand. I’ve never really tried that before.”

Shane’s words took Ryans breath away, it wasn’t one of those ‘she let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding moments. No. The air in Ryan’s lungs just seemed to seep out and in the process Ryan’s sure he made some whining noise like when you empty a balloon of air.

Ryan placed his other hand over Shane’s. He couldn’t speak, so that was the best he could give, another hand and a look he hoped portrayed everything he was feeling.

Shane didn’t seem to mind the lack of words, his eyes turned towards the TV and he spoke, voice now more gravelly than it had been since Ryan came.

“Happy new year Ryan, let’s hope it’s a good one.”

“Yeah… let’s.”


	13. Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They hadn’t had a long night together but it had been nice. Ryan sat back on the couch while taking a few deep breaths. It was so easy to forget the other man was supposed to be a hero. He was goofy, he was kind, it felt so casual and nice to be around him.

**Friday, January 1. 2010.**  
**Los Angeles.**

Sitting there filled with serenity in the flickering lights of the myriad of colorful fireworks; they held hands.

Seconds felt like minutes, minutes like hours. Every moment was dragged out until it was ready to burst, and it did; coloring the air between them with a deep understanding. There was no need for words or actions, and so they sat.

Alone together…

Until- **_RIIIIIIIIIIIING!_**

A deafening sound got Shane moving, jumping up from the couch to grab a small device over by the TV. Ryan’s hand lands limp on the pillow.

After pressing a button on the little box- _was it a radio??_ a crunchy voice starts speaking through the thing.

“Calling all units, a shopping mall by Santa Monica Boulevard is being robbed. Perpetrators might be armed.”

Shane looked at Ryan and his whole posture had changed. Shane’s back was straight, his eyes wide and filled with a different kind of seriousness that hadn’t been there before.

“Ryan I have to go, you uh… you can stay here if you’d like. It’s late,” Ryan thought for a second before making a decision and standing up.

“I think I’ll leave, but thanks. You should probably get going, right? Don’t worry about me,” Ryan didn’t want to be a bother and maybe contemplate his actions as a villain while trying to be friends with a hero. (maybe more than friends?? Ryan couldn’t say in his current state)

Shane looked torn but eventually, he seemed to make up his mind “okay, just make sure to slam the door on your way out then it should lock on its own.” Shane then grabbed a small bag that had been hidden out of view behind the front door and ran.

They hadn’t had a long night together but it had been nice. Ryan sat back on the couch while taking a few deep breaths. It was so easy to forget the other man was supposed to be a hero. He was goofy, he was kind, it felt so casual and nice to be around him.

Every time Ryan had ever seen The Golden Boy on TV the guy had been stuck up and overly proud, I mean yeah he had something to have it in because he was admittedly a great hero but the sight still bothered Ryan sometimes.  
The persona he put on when he was out saving the world was so incredibly different to the Shane he knew…

Putting a pause to his running thoughts _(he could contemplate his relationship with the other man when he got home)_ Ryan stood up, made sure he had all of his stuff and walked home.

putting in his headphones while walking, shutting out the world and its noise. Ryan walks. Mind over matter plays and he hums for himself.

_“And if the world don't break_

__

I'll be shaking it

__

'Cause I'm a young man after all, oooh ooh

__

And when the seasons change

__

Will you stand by me

__

_Cuz I'm a young man built to fall, oooh ooh”_

The world fell away, nothing left but Ryan, the music in his ears and the sky above his head.

And his gaze floated up staring at the sky. There weren’t a lot of fireworks being fired now, only the stars were left on that wide big black canvas.

_“Taste my disaster_

__

It's heavy on my tongue

__

_All the lights aglow”_

The words flowed creating a new reality for him to hide away in until he got home and had to face his problems.

Every step accented the beats and every breath whispered a new word. In a moment of vulnerability, Ryan longed to stay right there in the middle of the road looking at the moon and the stars.

Ryan felt a longing to be nothing more than a particle that could observe the world as it evolved, not judged, not acknowledged and no expectations put on him at all. 

But he kept walking until he felt metal under his hand, and a **CLICK!** brought him out of his slightly dazed state and into the real world.

Ryan took out his headphones and put away the mindset they gave him.

**Author's Note:**

> what even is an uploading schedule?  
> I'll try to post once a week but let's see. If I don't, hopefully I'll post a longer chapter next.


End file.
